Arrange The Clues IV
A Break In The Pattern By now, night had fallen, and Akatsuki was staying as guests in the home of one of the villagers, rather than turn back and head to the Elder's home. Vivian, Iris, and Wendy were all asleep, as close to Jason as possible, with Iris herself sleeping on the man's lap, not seeming to want to move from her main source of comfort. Wendy and Vivian had taken to his sides, and Yasaka was sleeping on Wendy's stomach. Out of all the girls, only Momoko was awake, looking outside the window. She wasn't comfortable enough to start sleeping with Jason yet. "...so, nothing's happened?" Jason was speaking quietly into a transceiver. "Alright. No, that's splendid. Keep the Guild in line, Len." He hung up, and looked over at Momoko. "Is there something outside of interest to you?" Momoko gave Jason an aside glance. "Buried underneath all these 'wonders', I remember, my mother once told me that once all the treasures were found and taken care of, then a deep, dark secret would be revealed to the ones who solved the mysteries. That is...what I want to find out." Jason, absentmindedly, scratched Iris' ears. Her tail started wagging, but she kept sleeping. "A secret." He laid his head against the wall, looking up at the sealing. "Secret, a secret, everybody's got a secret." These weren't his thoughts, merely something he was reciting. "Is this truly worth our time? These treasures have nothing to do with Akatsuki, Momoko. We are doing this purely for your curiosity." Momoko insisted, "This could be very well worth your time. After all, the information unlocked could quite possibly pertain to your guild...or the Magic Council. Or even moreso, it could have to do with the past of the Dragon Slayers...." She wasn't sure, but those wild guesses out of nowhere actually sounded legitimate. "You misunderstood me." Jason replied. "We're doing this purely for your curiosity. I'm quite certain this is something you want to look into. Leaving now, without letting you fully explore this, would be a tad cruel." He closed his eyes, as if he was heading off to sleep. "Anything I glean from this is just an added bonus." Momoko crossed her arms, rather annoyed at Jason's response. "Don't you understand?! This could very well change the course of history-" she noticed that Jason wasn't listening anymore. "Ah, never mind then..." She slumped against a wall and slowly closed her eyes as well, letting out a deep sigh. "Changing the course of history...." Jason murmured, obviously still awake. "That is the goal of the Akatsuki. We will change the world." Momoko was asleep already; truth be told, she slept like a damn log. "Sssh, magical pumpkins, I will not divulge my secrets..." she was talking in her sleep.... Iris's ears twitched as her leg flung back lightly, purring like a....cat. As Jason was dosing off, he saw the flash of movement. A white baboon. "Tch...Mr. E...." He murmured as he fell asleep. The Wall No One Can Reach Vivian's eyes slowly snapped awake; moving mechanically like clockwork. Her scarlet eyes surveyed the area; thankfully, all was well. Everyone was still fast asleep; though Vivian took a breather; now was as good a chance as any to get some fresh air. Stretching her arms, Vivian prepared to get up and walk outside, she heard a soft voice. "Hey, whitey." Vivian glanced to her side. It was Ulalia. "How long have you been awake?" Vivian muttered. "Long enough." Jason, had been awake longer than all of them, hadn't moved an inch, as Wendy and Iris were still sleeping either on, or next to him. He was, however, looking curiously an item in his hand. An acorn. "Now, what were you planning on doing, hmmm?" Ulalia was too forceful. "N-Nothing! I was just about to get some fresh air..." Vivian retorted, in an annoyed tone. "Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure ya are." "...Don't play this game with me." Amusingly enough, Ulalia and Vivian didn't notice Jason; continuing on their argument like it was the most casual thing in the world. "Both of you, please remember we're guests in someone else's household." Jason said quietly. "We're not here to disrupt their peace." Vivian turned around, scratching her head. "Oh, yeah...sorry about that..." Ulalia kept firing at Viv. "And another thing-" Vivian just silenced her by covering her mouth swiftly. "Mmmph! (Darn woman...I am here to preech the truth...!)" Jason nudged Iris and Wendy, causing them to stir. He wanted them to wake up now, so they could get this over with. Wendy's eyes fluttered....then she fell back asleep. Iris stretched her arms, yawning. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwh...What time is it~?" She seemed to mostly be back to normal; though one was never sure. Vivian immediately dropped what she was doing and ran over to Iris, hugging her tightly. "Iris!! Are you okay now?!" She was actually worried...this was a first. Iris tousled Vivian's hair, responding heartily, "Yeah..." Jason dangled the acorn directly in front of Iris' face. "This was left for you, Iris. I assume by Mr. E." Iris quickly nabbed the acorn up, clutching it tightly within her small hands. "Ooooooooooooooooooooh~ But what does it do?" "I'm not sure..." Jason replied, looking it over. "It's not an ordinary acorn, the material seems similar as the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and that would lead me to conclude it has similar properties." Iris played around with it in her hands, poking and prodding at the acorn. "So...it's not edible..." Her ears drooped in dissapointment as she got all teary-eyed; adorable, really. Vivian chuckled a bit at seeing this. "Oh, that's cute...Don't worry, when I get back, I'll find you a good acorn tree." Iris' ears already perked up and she smiled radiantly at this. Jason was pleased to see Vivian's kinder side coming out. "You, however, now have an additional weapon, aside from your tonfas. I am interested to see how you will use it." He stood up. Wendy, still asleep, was somehow clinging to his side. He poked her cheek gently, rousing her from her sleep. "Wha...what time is it?" She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand as Yasaka looked thoroughly irritated about being woken. "Time to move." Jason replied, helping her stand up. Iris' eyes closed and opened rather methodically, as Vivian also assissted her in standing to her feet. "Now, you're sure you're okay now, Iris?" "Yeppers~" Iris nodded in response. "I see...well, don't be too hard on yourself." Vivian held her hand tightly. Jason walked over to Momoko and shook her awake. "Get up, it's time to head out." Iris' eyes flickered lightly as she held Vivian's arm, with Vivian assissting her in walking over to Jason. "Geez~ Don't need to be so harsh- she paused. Though, you're such a tsundora." "That's not a word." Jason replied shortly, and shook Momoko once more. "This is your mission Momoko, wake up." Iris rebuffed, "Of course it is~" Vivian elbowed her slightly, sighing, "It's 'tsundere'. You mean to say that Jason is a 'tsundere', I get it...or wait, maybe you were calling him a tundra. I'm not sure....anyway, let's go." The moment that Momoko was shaken, she attempted to leap back...only to smash her head against the wall. "Owwww....What do you want? ...oh, yeah. On it." She began to pack up. Jason frowned, looking at the back of her head as if concerned, but then headed towards the door. "Let's set out. Momoko, you have to lead us." Momoko withdrew the map from her clothes- more specifically, her cleavage, and read through it. "We have to head north; it's not too far from here. We could quite possibly get there in about twenty minutes, tops....of course, that is...if we run. So let's get this show on the road." Jason scooped up Wendy into his arms. "Let's go, we're not wasting time here." He immediately took off due north, and naturally, the girls and Yasaka followed as fast as they could keep up. Ulalia muttered under her breath, "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," before following the gang as fast as she could. "We're just trying to, in whitey's words, "Get there, get it done, and get back as fast as possible" now, right?" "That is an adequate observation, if you consider the remaining three treasures following this one." Jason replied quickly. "We'll need to move fast if we want to return to the Haven." Iris seemed to say something that couldn't be properly made out; that nobody paid attention to. Probably was an old-school reference. Momoko, with a burst of water from her feet, seemed to move faster than normal. "Okay, everyone focus magic into their feet and then instantly release it; that should produce a boost that will cover a large distance in a few moments. In fact, we'll practically be there." While the others followed this instruction, Jason merely kept running, and had no problem keeping up with the girls. He was just..like that. Momoko was actually rather surprised that Jason was keeping up naturally. "But how?" Ulalia, unsurprisingly, told her bluntly. "He's the star. He can do these things." "No." Jason replied. "I simply want this done." He was basically doing this on pure determination. After a few moments, the group reached their destination. It was a solitary corridor enshrouded with pitch-blackness; despite the weather conditions being rather quaint. Momoko pointed to the dead end....the closer she got to it by walking, the further it appeared. It was...really, odd. "...So yeah. This is basically the damn problem here." "What is this? Illusion magic?" Yasaka looked at it curiously. "It can't be a mirage, the conditions aren't set for that..." Ulalia's eyes focused on the complex deadend, surveying it and memorizing it in her brain. There seemed to be minor flaws in the corridor; though they rapidly shifted every second so it was almost impossible to notice them completely. "Hmm..." almost mechanically, it seemed that gears began to turn in her head, trying to work out a favourable situation. "Give me a few minutes. For now, you guys just try whatever you can." "I don't see a real need." Jason replied, setting Wendy down. "Attacking something like this would waste valuable stamina and magical power. Approaching it when we have no true idea what would happen is idiotic. We'll wait for your analysis, Ulalia." After several minutes had passed, Ulalia came up wirth a viable solution. "I have a grand idea. Hear me out. You weren't too far off the mark, Jason. You know, if you attack the flaws, it could quite possibly dispel the mirage. However, since the location of 'em are shiftin' every second, there would normally be impossible to catch. So I have a solution. I have a pinpointed map of the damn thing where the errors pop up." She wrote on the air "Solid Script: Accuracy", before handing it to Jason. It was only a small line, but it looked like it could be attached to Gehaburn. "If you hit it with Gehaburn now, it could quite possibly end it." "Gehaburn, this is going to feel very different." He said, directly to the sword, applying the line to the flat side of the cleaver. It gave off a faint blue glow, much like flames, but they flickered in and out of visibility. He swung the blade, letting loose a giant blue crescent that shot in the wall's general direction. BLAM! The wall that the mirage erected swirled around like a fierce whirlpool, erratically distorting it while it was sucked up into a dark void from the sheer force of the impact, leaving nary a trace of magical properties that it once used to keep all who encountered it unaware. Ulalia pumped her fist, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "Okay, objective cleared! Let's finally see if we can touch the thing now!" "Let me." Jason caused Gehaburn to fade as he took steps closer to the wall, looking dead at it. Given they destroyed the illusion, and that didn't summon the demon Jason knew had to be lurking, physical contact with the wall had to settle it. He placed his palm onto the face of the wall. A series of flames began to swirl around Jason, shooting straight up to the skies before converging and merging, quickly taking the shape of a legless, monsterous-looking beast with six arms. Its eyes were as blank as an abyss as horns protruded from it's head. "I see you were about to solve my mystery. It would be a shame if...I showed up." Momoko kept looking at the creature above them. "It's a special type of demon I think. A Djinn. Ifrit, I guess." "A Djinn..." Jason murmured. "Like a genie?" Momoko confirmed Jason's suspicions. "Like something in ancient Sheikth law. It's an old civilization; I'm sure you don't wanna hear about it...Anyway, going by elemental matchups, the young one and I would be the best suited to face down the Ifrit. Any objections?" Jason frowned. He didn't want to let Wendy rush in against a demon made completely of flames but...if he didn't, she never would grow as a mage. He wanted her to be able to defend herself. He stepped back from the Djinn and went to stand next to Iris. "By all means." Fire, Water, and Air Wendy looked determined as she stepped forward with Momoko, towards the Djinn. She looked up at Momoko, the elder Slayer. "Let's end this quick. I'll try my hardest not to drag you down, Momoko-san!" "Momoko...san?" She flinched for a moment; though her attention returned back to the blazing Ifrit. "Alright, child. Watch closely. This...!" A pillar of water erupted from her slender body as her slitted pupils focused solely on the Ifrit, locking on obsessively. "...Is how a Dragon Slayer fights!" BAM! Glacial water shot forth from her feet as she used that as a jet boost to propel herself forward, attempting to attack the Ifrit with that power. "D-don't leave me behind!" Wendy began to glow light blue as she wordlessly increased her movement speed through the use of the Vernier spell. Using this speed, she was able to keep up with Momoko with pure leg power. "Momoko-san!" She extended her hands towards Momoko. ""O strengthen of arm to cleave the heavens! ARMS!" Momoko began to glow dark blue, and Wendy smiled. "I've increased your attack power, Momoko-san!" Momoko felt her inherant strength increased tenfold as she spun around in mid-air, calling out, "Suiryuu no...Jikanken!" She let out a powerful wave of ice which froze the atmosphere for s split second, from there launching a devastating ten-hit combo upon the Ifrit; one which possessed enough power to knock it flying the moment that time resumed flowing. Spinning around in mid-air, the Ifrit managed to catch itself; from there, it knocked it's fists together and unleashed a powerful stream of fire from it's mouth, aimed towards Wendy and Momoko; it forked the moment that it was released, leading to a "double-hit" effect. Wendy reached behind her ear, removing the Ruyi Jingu Bang and expanding it to normal size. "Sky Dragon's Iron Brand!" She called, compressing wind around the end of the staff and thrusting it into the heart of the flames as a spiralling sphere of air which tore through the stream aimed in her direction. The flames were instantly neutralized as both Wendy and Momoko's attacks struck; that is to say that the Ifrit was open to attack once more. Momoko's myriad of water-enhanced blows impacted upon the Ifrit's body with tremendous ease one more time. "Wendy, now!" Momoko also began to charge up some of her most powerful techniques. Wendy inhaled deeply, swallowing the air around them and mixing her magic with it. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" With great force, she released a spiralling, hurricane-like current of air from her mouth at the Djinn of flame. The wind managed to shred the Djinn with its power; knocking it away...only to be caught within Momoko's next attack. "Suiryuu no...Houkou!" She released a powerful stream of water from her mouth which had white rings of water circling around it; it impacted upon the beast mere milliseconds later as Wendy's blast did; puncturing a hole in the Ifrit which was quickly mended up. The Ifrit roared and thrust its fist towards the ground; from there, several cracks appeared in the ground and erupted violently, blasts of lava shot up violently at both Momoko and Wendy. "I won't let it!" Wendy extended the Ruyi Jingu Bang, expanding it's length and it's size, gripping it with both hands as she jumped into the air and swung it, dispersing the lava blasts from the ground effortlessly, before swinging the staff in the direction of the Djinn. WHACK! The Ifrit was smacked away, sending it crashing towards the ground. Momoko landed safely, punching the ground swiftly, causing a thin sheet of ice to cover the ground, creeping towards her foe and casing it in nothing but pure white. Wendy closed in, her speed still enhanced with Vernier, and closed in on the enclosed Djinn. "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" She called, releasing a spiralling whirlwind of air that collided with the Djinn. The ice instantly shattered from this blow; the Djinn was struck violently, being sent crashing high up in the air once more. It wasn't really an immediate threat- more of a punching bag for the two. It attempted to blast the two once more with several whips of flame that scattered the air around it. Wendy clapped her hands together, releasing a powerful current of wind that blew away the flames from both sides, before she started panting from the effort. "Momoko-san..." She breathed in for a moment, eating the air. It made her feel better, restored her stamina. "What if we combine our magic? The Djinn...it's really durable. But...if we combine our powers...." Momoko nodded as she extended her hand to the small child. "Focus your magical power into your heart the moment our hands meet. Then use your Dragon Slayer Magic and your instincts will do the rest." Wendy nodded. "I'll do my best!" She complied and gripped Momoko's hand tightly; magical energy gathered around the two, forming an intense aura. "Unison Raid!" Both shouted. "Sky Dragon's...Roar!!" Wendy unleashed a hurricane-esque blast at Momoko, which propelled her forward at high speeds, forming a slipstream behind her. Wendy quickly dashed after her; the effect boosting her speed severely. Momoko charged up ice in her fist. "Frozen..." Her arm shot forward at high speeds; blasting the Djinn with a powerful icy-wind which then froze it. Hiding within the shadow of Momoko; Wendy boosted her speed even more as she leapt high into the air, calling, "...World!" She unleashed a powerful razor-wind from her open palm, which was sent careening into the Ifrit, shattering the ice which inprisoned it and leaving the beast as little more than chunks of ice, scattered everywhere. "D-did...did we do it?" Wendy was panting, her magic powered absolutely drained as she collapsed on her rump. Naturally, Jason was standing right there by her side, scooping her up into his arms. She...then just fell asleep, exhausted from the amount of power that Unison Raid with Momoko had used. Jason looked over at Momoko. "Are you alright?" Momoko weakly nodded. "Y-Yeah..." She was panting heavily, bending down slightly with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "Notice though....I think Iris told me before, but Wendy has a lot of potential to perform Unison Raids with almost anyone. Don't you think that's kinda...abnormal?" Jason gave it a passing thought. "When you mention it in such a manner, I suppose it would seem abnormal. Perhaps, it means her magic is simply versatile." Vivian muttered something under her breath which the group (sans Iris) couldn't make out; supposedly, it was something to do with Wendy's status as an artificial being. "...Anyway, that's over and done with! How many more have we got to go?" Momoko bluntly answered, "Three more, I think. Though I have a slight feeling that the last one will reveal all the information..." she seemed unsure. "This is growing tedious. What is the next one?" Jason asked, a tinge of irritation in his voice. "It's to the south of here. It's known as the "hot springs of departure". It's rumored that after 30 minutes when you step in them, you vanish." Momoko gripped her mask slightly as she continued, "We'll be done soon, I promise you that, Jason." Jason appeared next to Momoko without her being aware, keeping Wendy in the curve of his arm as he snatched up Momoko's mask with his free hand. He took one look at the mask, and before Momoko could even protest, he cut it into quarters with Gehaburn. "I'm quite surprised you still had this. There's no need for it now." Momoko seemed bemused at this. "Gee, thanks Jason. I needed that to get some good old beauty sleep..." "You look perfect already..." Jason murmured. Whether it was audible or not was anyone's guess. "Now, let's move!" END